In an interview with an FBI official about a recently discovered Qaeda letter, Fox News Channel's John Gibson asked if the American government ever fakes terrorist documents, RAW STORY has found.

"The American government doesn't fake terrorist documents," FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs John Miller told Gibson on Friday. "But again, John, I don't want to get pulled into a discussion that I'm not briefed on, so I can't talk about these particular documents, per se."

"Not to characterize them one way or the other, I just wasn't told this was going to come up and I've not read into those," Miller continued.

Transcript of FOX interview:

#

MR. GIBSON: The alleged al Qaeda document found during raids in Iraq paints a dismal outlook for al Qaeda, as we have just been discussing. What do we know about it? Do we know if it authentic?

Here now is FBI Assistant Director for Public Affairs John Miller.

So John, this document is now being challenged. It was challenged by Senator Harry Reid today -- as much as said it could be a fake. You just saw Congressman Cummings not sure whether to believe it. And those people who oppose the president and oppose the war are claiming it was made up.

What do we know about this thing?

MR. MILLER: Well, I'm actually not briefed on that and that's not what I was told we were talking about today or I would have gotten briefed on it. But I'm not sure it's in the FBI's portfolio. This is something recovered by the military. We may have something to do with looking at it down the road, but I can't answer you question, John.

MR. GIBSON: Well, when you find these -- well, let me put it this way, John. Does the American government fake terrorist documents?

MR. MILLER: The American government doesn't fake terrorist documents. But again, John, I don't want to get pulled into a discussion that I'm not briefed on, so I can't talk about these particular documents, per se. Not to characterize them one way or the other, I just wasn't told this was going to come up and I've not read into those.

Now, as far as the FBI goes, our role in sensitive site exploitation overseas is we will go in with the military. We will collect evidence. We will process that evidence. We'll examine that evidence. We'll authenticate that evidence, and that may be happening in this case. That would be in the normal course of business, but I can't refer to these with specificity.

MR. GIBSON: Do you know anything about any al Qaeda documents that have come into the possession of the FBI?

MR. MILLER: Well, I certainly know about al Qaeda documents that have been received along the way over the years. And what we are seeing in those documents is a pattern of problems developing for al Qaeda because of advances in the war on terror. I would refer specifically to letters between Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two man in al Qaeda, and Zarqawi that were intercepted, where Zawahiri is telling Zarqawi that al Qaeda's hurting for money, that he'd like to see funds, that he doesn't like the direction that Zarqawi is taking in the killing of other Muslims and that is injuring their cause.

So we've certainly seen a lot of documents between Zarqawi and Zawahiri, where they have lamented that things are not going as well as they want to. I just can't comment about these latest documents today because I haven't been briefed on those.

MR. GIBSON: All right. FBI Assistant Director of Public Affairs John Miller.